Life is Hard; God is Good
Posted in anger, introspection, Misti's Posts, suffering, Truth 0 comments
Listening to Christian radio, hearing testimonies of people touched by God, and sometimes even attending Sunday worship can leave the wrong impression on a person. As I drove in to my office today, I kept hearing the same message: your relationship with God cleanses you and takes away your troubles. While I believe that nothing in this world can cleanse you like God's forgiveness, I think the Christian world does a disservice to unbelievers by pushing the message that your sins go away and your life is filled with joy and happiness ever after.
I am a 15-year follower of God. I am a Sunday school teacher, a youth worker, and, I hope, a woman after God's heart. Despite all these things, I still have pain. I still suffer sorrow, hurt, and loss. I struggle with guilt over my sin, and laziness in my relationship with God. Some days, I still crawl out of bed desperately hoping I could just make it through the day. God's love, mercy and grace covers all this, but it doesn't take it away.
I heard part of a speech by Beth Moore this morning that went something like this: "Once you've experienced God's hand touching your life, making you someone you could never be on your own, nothing is important enough to risk that. Nothing illicit, nothing worldly is worth coming before Him." As I listened to this, I found myself thinking, "If that's the case, why do I keep finding things that seem to be able to do just that?" Toby Mac sang, "I was made to love You" this morning, and my inner response was, "If that's the case, why is it so hard to do?"
I think it's only fair to be truthful to people I want to see come to Jesus, and this is the hard truth. First, accepting God's gift of forgiveness and being adopted into His family does not fix you. Second, following Jesus is the most difficult thing you will ever do, if you do it right. It means removing things from your life that will trail behind you like toilet paper stuck to your foot. It means committing and re-committing your life to Him; sometimes with a, "Good morning, God...I need you this morning", and sometimes on your knees because you've wandered away again. Satan will use your past against you at every opportunity. It requires a passionate pursuit that takes up your whole self. A relationship with God demands surrender of your desires, your marriage, your family, your job...everything you are to His control. Anyone who believes that is easy will be in for a rude awakening.
Just as I was about to give up on the Christian radio this morning, I heard something a little different. God heard my questions, and He responded with exactly what I needed to hear. I want to share the song that God wrote for me just for this morning. Maybe He wrote it for you, too.
I am a 15-year follower of God. I am a Sunday school teacher, a youth worker, and, I hope, a woman after God's heart. Despite all these things, I still have pain. I still suffer sorrow, hurt, and loss. I struggle with guilt over my sin, and laziness in my relationship with God. Some days, I still crawl out of bed desperately hoping I could just make it through the day. God's love, mercy and grace covers all this, but it doesn't take it away.
I heard part of a speech by Beth Moore this morning that went something like this: "Once you've experienced God's hand touching your life, making you someone you could never be on your own, nothing is important enough to risk that. Nothing illicit, nothing worldly is worth coming before Him." As I listened to this, I found myself thinking, "If that's the case, why do I keep finding things that seem to be able to do just that?" Toby Mac sang, "I was made to love You" this morning, and my inner response was, "If that's the case, why is it so hard to do?"
I think it's only fair to be truthful to people I want to see come to Jesus, and this is the hard truth. First, accepting God's gift of forgiveness and being adopted into His family does not fix you. Second, following Jesus is the most difficult thing you will ever do, if you do it right. It means removing things from your life that will trail behind you like toilet paper stuck to your foot. It means committing and re-committing your life to Him; sometimes with a, "Good morning, God...I need you this morning", and sometimes on your knees because you've wandered away again. Satan will use your past against you at every opportunity. It requires a passionate pursuit that takes up your whole self. A relationship with God demands surrender of your desires, your marriage, your family, your job...everything you are to His control. Anyone who believes that is easy will be in for a rude awakening.
Just as I was about to give up on the Christian radio this morning, I heard something a little different. God heard my questions, and He responded with exactly what I needed to hear. I want to share the song that God wrote for me just for this morning. Maybe He wrote it for you, too.
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